2011-02-23

Libya's dictator Gaddafi 格達費 / 卡扎菲 معمر القذافي‎ has used students' revolts on Tiananmen Square in 1989 as a justification for bombing his own people with jet-planes. One of the reasons the students' uprising did not succeed in China is that the students actually believed that they could convince their country's leaders that their demands were reasonable. They also did not intend to overthrow the government. Some Chinese leaders were not in favour of the repression. Zhao Ziyang 趙紫陽 who did believe in the students' movement was indeed put under house arrest from 1989 until his death in 2005. One of the then leaders to stand by his side when Zhao Ziyang, using a megaphone, tried to talk to the students is none other than China's current Premier Wen Jiabao 溫家寶.

Tiananmen Protests: Zhao Ziyang with Megaphone, to his left current Premier Wen Jiabao

August 30, 2009: Gaddafi, Ambassador Wang Wangsheng, Berlusconi

In spite of this demonstration of faith by Gaddafi, Chinese authorities are not reassured and are evacuating their Nationals from Libya. Relations have changed since Ambassador to Libya, Wang Wangsheng and Guo Chang, Warfare and Commercial Counsellor of Chinese Companies, were guests fo Libya's ruler with his friend Silvio Berlusconi as proudly displayed on the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs website.
As commonly said but sadly true, with friends like this who needs enemies?
My heart bleeds for Libyan people tonight. Apparently, the killings are so fierce that they are afraid to attend to the bodies of their loved ones.